Public Information and Communication

Young Nebraska writers will receive Letters about Literature award
certificates from Gov. Dave Heineman on April 13, 2011 at a
proclamation-signing ceremony celebrating National Library Week, April
10-18, 2011.
Letters about Literature is a national reading and writing promotion
program. Just under 70,000 adolescent and young adult readers nationwide in
grades 4 through 12 participated in this year's Letters About Literature
program-more than 450 of them from Nebraska. The competition encourages
young people to read, be inspired and write back to the author who has
somehow changed their view of the world or themselves.

This annual contest is sponsored nationally by
the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with
Target Stores. Target sponsors Letters about Literature as part of its
national reading initiative, "Ready. Sit. Read!," which is aimed at
fostering a love of reading among children at an early age. Since opening
its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations,
guests and team members to help meet community needs. The Center for the
Book was established in 1977 as a public-private partnership to use the
resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books
and reading.

The Nebraska competition is coordinated and
sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book,
Nebraska Library Commission, and Houchen Bindery Ltd. Young Nebraska
writers to be honored are:

Winners

Grace Doll, Lincoln, to Willa Cather about My Ãntonia

Megan Brookhouser, Omaha, to Jeannette Walls about The Glass
Castle

Arash Hamidi, Omaha, to Gene Luen Yang about American-Born
Chinese

Alternate Winners

Frank Wickizer, Lincoln, to Ernest Hemingway about The
Old Man and the Sea

Grace Cai, Omaha, to Philip Pullman about Northern Lights
(The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass

Timarree Speer, Mason City, to Beatrice Sparks about Anne's
Baby

The students wrote personal letters to authors explaining how his or her
work changed their view of themselves or the world. They selected authors
from any genre, fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. Winners were
chosen from three competition levels: upper elementary, middle, and
secondary school.

The Nebraska winners will be honored at a luncheon, receive cash prizes and
gift certificates to Target Stores, and their winning letters will be placed
in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin
Public Library in Lincoln. They will advance to the national competition, with a chance
to win a trip to Washington, D.C. for themselves and their parents. For more
information see
http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.

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The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library
Commission and brings together the state's readers, writers, booksellers,
librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the
community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public
interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for
the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission.

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As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate
for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the
Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of
library and information services, bringing together people and information.
The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are
always available on the Library Commission website,
nlc.nebraska.gov, search on News
Releases.